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ORISE Featurecast

ORISE Featurecast

By: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
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This is the ORISE FeatureCast. Join host Michael Holtz for conversations with ORISE experts on STEM workforce development, scientific and technical reviews, and the evaluation of radiation exposure and environmental contamination. You’ll also hear from ORISE research program participants and their mentors as they talk about their experiences and how they are helping shape the future of science. Welcome to the ORISE Featurecast.Copyright 2026 ORISE Featurecast Education Nature & Ecology Political Science Politics & Government Science
Episodes
  • 'My ultimate goal is to help others:' A conversation with Beth Ellinport, ORISE Fellow

    'My ultimate goal is to help others:' A conversation with Beth Ellinport, ORISE Fellow
    Jun 24 2026
    Beth Ellinport is an ORISE research program participant at the US Army Corps of Engineer's Engineer Research and Development Center Environmental Laboratory, where her research helps drive data-driven decision-making under uncertainty. We think of the Army Corps of Engineers in relation to dredging waterways and building levies, locks and dams but there is much to consider for those projects and others, including impacts on downstream communities, employees and search-and-rescue crews. Ellinport is part of a team that helps bring more certainty to the process. Ellinport says she was drawn to the field of crisis and risk management because she lost someone close to her in an incident that involved a huge urban search, rescue and recovery mission. She saw first responders put their lives at risk to help others. Her ultimate goal, she says, is to be able to help others, which she does every day. When her ORISE fellowship ends, Ellinport plans to pursue a doctoral degree in industrial and organizational psychology. She wants to look through the lens of uncertainty and resilience, recovering and adapting to unknown and known threats, from the perspective of the people impacted. “Can our employees and our circles of support maintain function when they are also receiving disruption themselves. Learn more about Ellinport here: https://orise.orau.gov/people/success-stories/2025/beth-ellinport.html
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    23 mins
  • AI's role inside and outside the classroom: An Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship conversation

    AI's role inside and outside the classroom: An Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship conversation
    Jun 3 2026
    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is something most people interact with every day, even if they don’t realize it. Maps apps, the predictive text you see when you’re writing an email or document, or the ad you get served on social media because you searched the web for something. While useful in our daily lives, AI is also beneficial in the classroom. As this episode is posted, students and educators from around the country are about to compete in the finals of the Presidential AI Challenge in Washington, D.C. In this episode of the ORISE Featurecast, Michael Holtz is joined by guest co-host Natasja Brown. Together they have a great conversation with Dr. Ann Schwartz, an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship alum, and Kyle Kuhlers, a current AEF Fellow. Join them for an interesting and inspiring conversation. Dr. Ann Schwartz is the Director of Emerging Tech Workforce Impact Fellow with the Maryland Department of Labor in the Office of the Secretary. Previously, she was the Assistant Director for Research Infrastructure in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) where she revitalized the development of the National Strategic Computing Reserve and led the US Delegation at the G7 Conference for Large Research Infrastructures. Previously, Ann was the Director of the Computing Community Consortium bridging computing research and policy. She began her work in policy as an Einstein Fellow at the National Science Foundation working on Computing Education and Workforce, building on her prior experience as a high school math and computer science teacher. Ann received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, her Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from George Washington University and her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from George Mason University. Kyle Kuhlers has taught business and computer education for 22 years in rural and urban Iowa high schools, the last seven years at Waterloo Community School District in the Waterloo Career Center. The last four years have been exclusively Information Technology and Cybersecurity education. Before teaching, Mr. Kuhlers was an IT professional for 6 years at Oral-B Laboratories toothbrush manufacturing facility. He has a BBA from the University of Iowa in Finance and Marketing, along with teaching certifications in Business Education, Information Technology Endorsement, and Computer Science Endorsement. In 2023, Mr. Kuhlers completed the University of Louisville National Cybersecurity Teachers Academy Certification, which included 12 graduate credit hours of learning over two summers. The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Act gives the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) the responsibility for managing the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship. The DOE Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) manages this program for DOE in collaboration with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) and the partnering Federal agencies, which, at the time of this recording, included the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Library of Congress (LOC), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The DOE sponsors five placements in congressional offices. To learn more about the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, visit https://science.osti.gov/wdts/einstein.
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    44 mins
  • Honing new skills as an ORISE Fellow at the Health Resources and Services Administration

    Honing new skills as an ORISE Fellow at the Health Resources and Services Administration
    May 20 2026
    Maggie Mangas is a former ORISE Research Program Participant whose fellowship was with the Health Research Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program. Mangas was excited about the opportunity to develop her quantitative research skills. Her background includes conducting qualitative research. Mangas was drawn to the ORISE fellowship because she saw an opportunity to be in a government setting, along with this data training component. She says her mentor was fantastic about creating an environment to hone her desired new skills. Hear more about Mangas’s ORISE experience, some of the projects she was part of, and how she became interested in science. Read more about Mangas here: https://orise.orau.gov/people/success-stories/2026/maggie-mangas.html
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    20 mins
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